Conflict of interest bill rejected by UCP

Last Thursday, UCP MLAS voted against sending an Opposition bill that aimed to beef up the province’s conflict of interest laws back to the assembly for debate. NDP MLA Kathleen Ganley proposed Bill 202, the Conflict of Interest (Protecting the Rule of Law) Amendment Act, saying it is necessary to prevent future “abuses of power” after the UCP voted to fire elections commissioner Lorne Gibson through Bill 22, passed in the fall. Gibson was investigating the UCP’S leadership race and alleged “kamikaze” campaign donations when his position was eliminated. Ganley’s bill would have expanded the definition of an “associated person” in the province’s conflict of interest law, but UCP MLA Michaela Glasgo said the bill made that definition “more confusing” rather than clarifying. UCP MLA R.J. Sigurdson called the proposed bill a “train wreck,” and suggested its scope was so broad that it could “open up more and more witch hunts.” On Monday, NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley said raising concerns about how Bill 22 was passed is “not a witch hunt. It is the responsible work of anybody who is concerned about democracy in Alberta, in Canada, or anywhere in the western world.”